Cameron County, Texas
Brownsville is home to 78 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Created February 21, 1848; From Nueces County; Organized August 7, 1848; Named in honor of Ewen Cameron, 1811-1843; Captain in the Mier Expedition; Shot at Queretaro; County Seat, Santa Rita 1848-1849; Brownsville,…
View on map ↗Created February 12, 1848 Since 1535 men of all nations of the earth sailed the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the green valley of the Rio Grande in search of happiness, and each found it in his own time and in…
View on map ↗Oldest permanent fort in Texas; Called Fort Taylor in March, 1846; Later renamed in honor of Major Jacob Brown killed here in May, 1846; Permanent post established, 1849; Evacuated by Federal troops in 1861, by…
View on map ↗Brownsville home of Charles Stillman, 1810-1875; founder of Brownsville and partner in firm of M. Kenedy and Company, which opened the Rio Grande to steamboat navigation and controlled much of the commerce of Northern…
View on map ↗At This Site the Last Battle of the Civil War, Known as Palmito Hill, was Fought by Confederate Troops Under Colonel John S. (Rip) Ford and Union Forces on May 13, 1865, 34 Days After Lee's Surrender at Appomattox.…
View on map ↗Here Jose Salvador de la Garza built his ranch El Espiritu Santo in 1771; First European settlement in Cameron County
View on map ↗Here was Santa Rita; First Anglo-American settlement on lower Rio Grande and county seat of Cameron County; 1848 1849
View on map ↗Was fought here May 8, 1846 and was won by the Army of the United States. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
View on map ↗Was fought here May 9, 1846 And the defeat of the Mexican Army under General Mariano Arista by the United States troops under General Zachary Taylor made good the claim of Texas to the territory between the Nueces and…
View on map ↗These palmetto pilings are the remains of the Boca Chica Crossing of the Railroad from Boca Chica inlet to White's Ranch on the Rio Grande. Begun by General Francis H. Herron, U.S.A., in 1864 and completed in 1865 by…
View on map ↗Completed in 1883, this was the first courthouse built by Cameron County officials, who previously rented or purchased office space. This three-story brick structure served as the county courthouse until 1914, when a…
View on map ↗Mass was first celebrated in this area in 1849 by the oblates of Mary Immaculate. This church building was completed ten years later. Father Peter Yves Keralum designed the structure, which features Gothic Revival…
View on map ↗Completed in 1869 during the rebuilding of Fort Brown by Captain William Alonzo Wainwright, the Post Hospital Annex (also known as the Medical Laboratory), was constructed to house personnel assigned to work in the…
View on map ↗1255 E. Elizabeth Street, Brownsville.
View on map ↗The last land engagement of the Civil War was fought near this site on May 12-13, 1865, thirty-four days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Col. Theodore H. Barrett commanded Federal troops on Brazos Island…
View on map ↗Civil War "Sister Cities", across the river in neutral Mexico. Were linked to Texas by a ferry which landed here. Ferry hauled to Matamoros the Confederate cotton brought from East Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas to…
View on map ↗Named by Gen. Zachary Taylor during Mexican war, for Maj. Jacob Brown, who died in 1846 defending the post. Permanent 385-acre reservation laid out 1848 by Col. Wm. Davenport, around original earthworks. Young officers…
View on map ↗Home of Chas. Stillman, ship owner, merchant, rancher, who came to Brazos Santiago in 1828 and in 1849-50 founded City of Brownsville in old Espiritu Santo Land Grant. Built about 1850 for his bride, Elizabeth Goodrich,…
View on map ↗Southern Colonial house of Wm. Neale, Englishman who was in Navy of Mexico in early 1820's, operated Matamoros to Boca Del Rio Stage Line, and lived here 1834 to 1896. Built of imported lumber. Of fine workmanship.…
View on map ↗Morgue and linen storage. 1867 Fort Brown Buildings 85 and 86. Brick fringe, cornice. Autopsies in yellow fever study were made here by Dr. Wm. C. Gorgas, Capt. Hennessey, Lt. Crowder, Dr. Melon, defying orders of…
View on map ↗In March 1868, Captain William Alonzo Wainwright arrived in Brownsville to supervise the rebuilding of Fort Brown following the Civil War and an 1867 hurricane. One of the first structures built under his direction was…
View on map ↗Authorized 1850. On land deeded forever for this purpose. Butchers, other vendors moved in during 1851. Building complete with top story and bell tower, 1852. Town hall over market used for Presbyterian church services.…
View on map ↗French mansard house built 1893 for Louis and Amelia Kowalski by S.W. Brooks, designer of many public structures. Kowalski, a customhouse broker, was Cameron County treasurer, then district clerk for more than 40 years.…
View on map ↗From Old Fort Brown Cavalry Drill Field, near this spot, was made the first flight of a U.S. Army plane to be fired upon in armed hostilities, April 20, 1915. Two Signal Corps officers, Lts. Byron Q. Jones and Thos.…
View on map ↗Erected 1850 for Don Jose San Roman, native of Biscay, Spain--importer, steamboat owner, merchant, investor in city lots. He and successor, Feliciano San Roman, backed the Rio Grande Railroad. Fulgencio Lopez was last…
View on map ↗This structure, with its molded cornice, is a good example of the large brick residences erected in Brownsville in the late 19th Century. It was built in 1894 for Mary Josephine Glaevecke Browne, widow of Cameron County…
View on map ↗A descendant of the 18th Century Rio Grande settler Blas de la Garza Falcon, Tomas Tijerina (1860-1932) moved to this site in 1904. His original frame house was moved to the back of the lot in 1912 when the present…
View on map ↗This brick and stone grotto was constructed about 1869-70 on the grounds of the Convent of the Congregation of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, a cloistered order. Built under the supervision of Sister Theresa…
View on map ↗Joseph Webb (1850-1933) had this residence constructed for his family about 1906. Known as Don "Pepe", Webb served as clerk of Cameron County for 34 years. In 1929 he conveyed the house to a daughter, Josephine Webb, a…
View on map ↗Although this cemetery was not formally deeded to the City of Brownsville until 1868, dates on marked tombstones indicate the site was being used as a graveyard by the late 1850s. Buried here are some of the earliest…
View on map ↗Enrique Manautou (1885-1962) had this residence built for his family in 1925 by Brownsville architect Edward Guy Holliday (1891-1961). A native of Mexico, Manautou became one of the city's most prominent retail…
View on map ↗Fannie Seward Cavazos (1844-1928) moved from Ohio during the Civil War to Bagdad, Mexico. She came to Brownsville in 1870 with her husband, Wenceslao Cavazos. After his death in 1882 Fannie began a successful…
View on map ↗Although public education in Cameron County had begun in 1854, the city of Brownsville was able to set up its own public school system in 1875, with classes held in various buildings throughout the city. In 1887 Captain…
View on map ↗A fine example of late Nineteenth Century South Texas commercial architecture, this building was constructed in 1893 to house the expanding grocery and mercantile, retail and wholesale business of Don Andres Cueto…
View on map ↗This depot was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1926 as part of its extension into the Rio Grande Valley. A fine example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, the depot features a tile roof, arcades,…
View on map ↗The development of Mexican oil fields by North American corporations during the 1920s led to a need for reliable transportation into Mexico's interior. As a result, Brownsville soon became a pioneer training center for…
View on map ↗The first serious attempt to study the possibility of construction of a deep water seaport in this part of South Texas was undertaken in 1854 when a survey was conducted by United States Army engineers. At that time,…
View on map ↗This building, associated with the rebuilding of Fort Brown after the Civil War, housed cavalry units until World War I, when it served as a quartermaster warehouse and commissary. Closed after World War II, the…
View on map ↗Built in 1904, this Late Victorian home exhibits features of the Italianate and Queen Anne styles of architecture. Owners Augustine and Laura Celaya designed the home, which became prominent in the social and civic life…
View on map ↗One of the earliest Episcopal churches organized in Texas, this congregation was founded in 1851. The Rev. William Passmore served as first Rector, and by 1854 a church building was completed in the downtown area.…
View on map ↗A native of Spain, Adrian Ortiz (1860-1957) emigrated to Brownsville before he was 18 and lived with relatives who trained him as a merchant. He built this structure in 1892 to house his mercantile operation, La…
View on map ↗Local architect Jose Colunga (1882-1946) built this house for businessman Jose A. Cisneros, Sr. (1887-1963). A hallmark example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style when completed in 1926, the structure's current…
View on map ↗Constructed in 1905 to serve as a food storage facility, this building was abandoned one year later when Fort Brown was closed. Upon reactivation of the post during Mexican border disturbances, the building served as a…
View on map ↗This church, organized by The Rev. Hiram Chamberlain and 19 charter members in 1850, is Brownsville's oldest Presbyterian congregation. Services were held on a river boat and in several sanctuaries before this structure…
View on map ↗Originally built as a three-story structure in 1912, this building, Cameron County's second jailhouse, was enlarged with the addition of a 4th floor about 1929. The 1912 structure was designed by prominent architect…
View on map ↗This house was designed by architect Ben Clark and built in 1928-1929 for the firm of Barnes and Kenny for the family of Celestino Pardo Barreda (1858-1953). A 2-story buff brick Spanish Colonial Revival style house, it…
View on map ↗Established in 1878 with the burial of rancher and businessman Sabas Cavazos, this small cemetery has served the Cavazos and related families for more than a century. It is located within the Portrero de Don Sabas…
View on map ↗In May 1846 when war was declared against Mexico, the U.S. Congress authorized the raising of 50,000 volunteer troops to supplement the regular U.S. Army. General Zachary Taylor was quickly inundated with volunteer…
View on map ↗Jewish settlers came to the Brownsville/Matamoros area in the mid-1840's. In 1868 one half acre of land next to the city cemetery was purchased by the Hebrew Benevolent society from Charles Stillman for $1. Victims of…
View on map ↗Spanish-born Manuel Alonso (1846-1922) constructed the one-story residence on this site in 1877 and added the two-story mercantile building by 1890. His "Los Dos Canones" mercantile was a popular gathering place for…
View on map ↗This graveyard was named for Carlos Villarreal Esparza (1828-1885), whose family's occupation of the surrounding ranch land began in the early 19th century. According to family records, the original Esparza Cemetery was…
View on map ↗This classically styled public building has been central for Cameron County government for nearly a century. Texas and Mexico both claimed this area after 1836. The Texas Legislature created Cameron County in 1848, even…
View on map ↗Ferry service along this stretch of the Rio Grande evolved as population in the area increased. In 1836, General Jose Urrea used rowboats at the Paso Real ferry near the later site of Fort Brown en route to Goliad.…
View on map ↗Built in 1877 for Judge William H. Russell (1838-1882), this house was purchased by Virginian and Confederate veteran Joseph James Cocke (1841-1926) in 1885. The Cocke family continued to live in the home until the late…
View on map ↗Sacred Heart Church was established by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate for the English-speaking parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church. San Antonio architect Frederick B. Gaenslen designed this building for the new…
View on map ↗Merchant and Brownsville native Frederick Hicks and his second wife, social worker Zuleika Banton Blackshear of Dublin, Texas, built this house circa 1909. Three years later they sold the house to Harry and Nellie…
View on map ↗María Estéfana Goseascochea de Cavazos y de Cortina established this burial ground on her property by the mid-1800s. Doña Estéfana, as she was known, was a large landowner and matriarch of noted pioneer families in…
View on map ↗Edgar and Goldye Hicks bought this property from the Brownsville Land and Investment Co. in 1908. Their house was one of the first built in West Brownsville, the first subdivision outside the original townsite. The…
View on map ↗Brownsville architect A.H. Woolridge designed this home in 1937 for Malcolm Prothro (Jack) and Vivian Faust McNair. Jack McNair moved to Brownsville in 1921 to join his brother, Phillip, in a clothing manufacturing…
View on map ↗(March 7, 1877 - March 30, 1976) Civil rights advocate, legislator and attorney Jose Tomas Canales was born on a ranch in Nueces County to Andreas and Tomasa (Cavazos) Canales. As a young man, he moved to Kansas City,…
View on map ↗…and 18 more Brownsville markers. Find every one of them on the map in the RoadHistorical app.
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